Organic Flax Seed

Organic flax seeds are flax seed grown and processed using organic standards. Each jurisdiction makes it own organic standards and they will therefore vary throughout the world. There are also countries where anyone can call their products organic, because there are no rules and regulations governing the marketing of organic products. If you want to know more about the rules regarding organic flax seed in your part of the world, the best thing to do is to contact the domestic entity in charge.

If you live in the United States, you can find out more about organic flax seed in the National Organic Program. The standards for the National Organic Program can be obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture.

In Canada, there is not binding legislation for organic flax seed. The Canadian government has however published a national organic standard that is used as a guideline by many flax seed producers. In Quebec, the situation is quite different, because the Conseil D'Accréditation Du Québec (Quebec Accreditation Board) oversees the certification of organic flax seed within Quebec and there is a binding provincial legislation regarding organic products.

If you live in Australia, you can contact the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS), because they are the entity responsible for controlling that organic flax seed adheres to the NASAA Organic Standard.

In Japan, the Japanese Agricultural Standard has been fully implemented in Japanese law since 2001. The Japanese system depends on a series of JAS certifiers. As late as 2005, each and every JAS certifier had to be re-accredited by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture; those who failed lost their right to certify organic products.

In the European Union, there are union-wide regulations as well as national standards. Organic flax seed, and all other forms of organic products, are governed by the EU-Eco-regulation. ("European Union regulation (EEC) N° 2092/91 of the European Council of June 24 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs"). This regulation deals with member state production as well as imports from outside the European Union. Certification is handled by each member nation. You should for take a look at the Organic Farmers and Growers Organic Standards if you want to find out more about organic flax seed in the United Kingdom, while those who want to know more about organic flax seed in Sweden should contact the KRAV organization.